


Found

by aceofsparrows



Series: Way Down Hadestown [5]
Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Fluff, Tumblr Prompt, a tiny bit of angst, bleuaceofsparrows fic, but not that much though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21690040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofsparrows/pseuds/aceofsparrows
Summary: anon prompt from tumblr: morning snuggles!!
Relationships: Hermes & Orpheus (Hadestown)
Series: Way Down Hadestown [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556290
Kudos: 29





	Found

Orpheus doesn’t remember much about his mother. His early childhood has been lost to the whispers of small-child memories, and if he’s truly being honest, he may have blocked out some of the worse parts of when he lived with his mother.

In any case, the only parental figure he’s ever really known is Mister Hermes. Orpheus remembers, vividly, the first day he spent at the bar, how Mister Hermes took him in with open arms, always there with a warm blanket or a bowl of hot broth, or a bandage for a skinned knee (of which a young Orpheus had many). The older man was obviously not predisposed to caring for a child, but his positivity and perseverance and care for Orpheus made the journey of childhood and adolescence one of equality and love.

One particular memory comes to mind, however, when Orpheus looks back upon his childhood with Mister Hermes…

He was five, maybe six winters old. He had been living with Mister Hermes in the apartment above the bar for two seasons, and was still having terrible nightmares. Most nights he would put up such a fuss about going to be that Mister Hermes would have to sit on at the foot of his cot until he fell asleep just to make sure he actually did, and even when Orpheus did sleep he was guaranteed to wake at least once in the middle of the night and wander about the apartment half-asleep until Hermes would guide him back to bed.

The nightmares got worse and worse, and eventually both of them were hardly sleeping. Summer had come and gone, and this winter was particularly cold and fearsome. Orpheus woke most nights freezing and screaming, why or at what, he never remembered.

Hermes was at a loss for what to do. The summer had been better; Lady Persephone stayed with the two of them during much of the summer months, and her presence helped greatly to abate Orpheus’ nightmares. However, she was back below once more, and with the winter the nightmares had renewed worse than ever, and both Hermes and Orpheus himself feared what would happen when Orpheus stopped sleeping altogether. 

Until one morning. 

It was the coldest day of the year, dark and with a wind that rattled the windowpanes and made you shiver just by listening to it. Orpheus had awoken to a particularly awful nightmare in the wee hours of the morning, and an exhausted Hermes had patiently put him back to bed after what seemed like forever. 

The rooster who lived two houses over crowed. The sun was rising, sending rays of meager light through the grey clouds that shone in feeble diagonals across the worn wooden floor. Hermes awoke, cold as usual, and was about to get up, except–

There was someone asleep beside him, small, thin limbs wrapped around one of his sides like a suckered octopus. Orpheus, snoring lightly, face slack with deep sleep, was clinging to his guardian like his life depended upon it and sleeping more peacefully than he had in months. 

Hermes was shocked, to say the least. But the small boy was warm and peaceful and obviously quite comfortable, so Hermes merely smiled, placed a feather-light kiss on Orpheus’ forehead, and carefully turned over, letting himself slip into a light sleep. After all, who really came to a bar before noon? The outside world could wait a little longer. 

Every night and every morning afterward, Orpheus crawled into bed with Mister Hermes. Every night his nightmares became less and less frequent, until finally he could sleep on his own without waking up once. 

And every so often, when a dream would take a turn for the worse or the night was particularly cold, Orpheus would quietly slip into bed with his beloved guardian, and Hermes would simply smile, give him a kiss, and go back to sleep. 


End file.
